CFS138 s.3 (Exam 3)

Attachment

Attachment

• An enduring emotional bond between an infant & caregiver that provides safety & security

Psychoanalytic Theory (Freud)

• Infants attach because caregivers satisfy oral needs through feeding

Behaviorist Theory

• Attachment forms because caregivers are associated with food & relief from hunger

Harlow & Zimmerman

• Monkey study showed attachment is based on comfort, not feeding

  • (monkeys preferred cloth mother over wire mother)

John Bowlby

• Proposed attachment is biologically programmed for survival

Attachment as Adaptive

• Attachment helps infants stay close to caregivers for protection

Internal Working Model

• Mental representation of relationships based on early attachment experiences

Secure Base Behavior

• Using caregiver as a base to explore while knowing they are available for comfort

Social Referencing

• Looking to caregiver for emotional cues in uncertain situations

Strange Situation

• A lab procedure used to assess attachment quality through separations & reunions

Reunion Phase

• The MOST important part of the Strange Situation for classifying attachment

Secure Attachment

• Infant explores freely, distressed when caregiver leaves, comforted when caregiver returns

Secure Caregiving

• Sensitive, responsive, consistent parenting

Insecure-Avoidant Attachment

• Infant avoids caregiver, shows little distress at separation, ignores reunion

Avoidant Caregiving

• Emotionally distant or rejecting caregiving

Insecure-Resistant (Ambivalent) Attachment

• Infant is clingy, very distressed at separation, resists comfort at reunion

Resistant Caregiving

• Inconsistent, unpredictable caregiving

Disorganized Attachment

• Infant shows confused, fearful, or contradictory behaviors

Disorganized Caregiving

• Associated with abuse, neglect, or frightening caregivers

Causes of Attachment Differences

• Caregiver:

  • Sensitivity

  • Consistency

  • Mental health

  • Stress

  • Social support

Consequences of Secure Attachment

• Better:

  • Emotion regulation

  • Social competence

  • Confidence

  • Peer relationships

Consequences of Insecure Attachment

• Higher risk for anxiety

• Aggression

• Poor relationships

Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)

• Measures adults’ mental representations of their own attachment history

Secure Adult on AAI

• Likely to have securely attached child

Avoidant Adult on AAI

• Likely to have avoidant child

Preoccupied Adult on AAI

• Likely to have resistant child

Unresolved Adult on AAI

• Likely to have disorganized child

Intergenerational Transmission

• Parent attachment predicts infant attachment